Cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise recently in Texas. West Texas had been hit particularly hard, and El Paso County attempted to implement a shutdown, but that was struck down in court. That is good news for fans of Texas high school football. If shutdowns began to happen state-wide, the football playoffs would be in jeopardy.
Cases are rising in Houston also, though not to the extent as in the El Paso area, and talks of implementing shutdowns that could affect high school sports are being considered. In fact, several newspapers, such as the Houston Chronicle, have been critical of Governor Gregg Abbott for not imposing more COVID-19 related regulations. However, any attempt at a large-scale shutdown would be unlikely to stand any legal challenge. Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Twitter,
“We must never shut Texas down again!!”
1-4A have completed their regular seasons and are now starting their playoffs. 5-6A are finishing up the last few weeks of their season and will start their playoffs in December. There have been numerous games canceled due to the virus, and a few schools canceling their entire seasons, nonetheless, the football season has gone as well as could be expected. We are in the home stretch of a great effort by everyone involved to play this 2020 high school football season. Let’s hope that we can see it through to the final snap of the UIL State Championship games and do it with all of our high school athletes staying healthy.
